From Medicine to Music: Dr. Latif Murji's Story

Dr. Latif Murji seamlessly navigates multiple worlds. A widely respected physician in the Canadian medical community, Latif is known for his impactful, ongoing contributions to health equity, health literacy, and emergency medicine. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Latif embarked on a journey to devote himself to his lifelong calling, music, aspiring to flourish as an artist without wavering in his care and advocacy for his patients.  

Today, Latif splits his time between Toronto and Los Angeles, flowing between treating and educating patients in his role as a family and emergency physician and performing and recording music with his band, Parachute Thieves. As disparate as these roles may sound, the thread that unites these activities is Latif’s unwavering sense of community and empathy. 

Rhythm of the Heart 

Born and raised in Scarborough, Ontario to refugee and immigrant parents from Uganda and Tanzania respectively, Latif credits his upbringing for instilling a great appreciation for music and introducing him to varied sounds.  

Although the music he makes with Parachute Thieves has strong alternative rock influences, Latif recalls a wide variety of sonic influences in his youth. These range from infectious pop hits of Michael Jackson to the spiritual depths of qawwali, the vibrant soundscapes of Bollywood, the rhythmic pulses of dancehall, and the dynamic flows of hip hop. This love of music and sound that was fostered by his family inspired an undeniable curiosity for songwriting at an early age. At the age of 15, Latif began teaching himself guitar. At 19, he began to focus on singing and developing his voice as an instrument. “I always knew I could sing but I didn’t have the confidence to do it,” he shares. Nevertheless, he cultivated his musical talent writing songs off the side of his desk while finishing his medical degree.  

Following the disorienting aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, Latif sprung into action. “After working non-stop in emergency rooms throughout the pandemic, I felt the time was right to really pursue my dreams and to invest in the music I had written.” Latif understood that an imagined “someday” where he could share his music with the world might not come to pass unless he trusted himself and took a staccato jump into the unknown.  

Medicine for the Soul 

“Medicine is like this parachute; it’s a safe career. Coming to L.A. was like throwing away my parachute, jumping out of a plane, taking this exhilarating freefall into the world of music,” Latif says, explaining the significance behind the name of his band, Parachute Thieves. That being said, Latif is certain “it’s not an accident” that he landed in the medical field. “Especially in family medicine, there is this sacred physician-patient relationship that you nurture over time. You serve as an advocate for someone, working with them through their life stages and supporting their health. [In emergency medicine,] you can literally save peoples’ lives, every day.” 

In fact, referring to the notorious rigour of medical training, he credits his education with instilling him with a sense of determination and a resilience when difficulty presents itself. “In music, it can feel intimidating because you can create something amazing, but if very few people know about it, very few people will get to appreciate the art you poured your heart into. [Being a physician] makes me not give up.”  

Latif emphasizes the lessons in empathy that the role of a physician has taught him. “You engage in encounters with patients that are very intimate. You hear about their pain and it sensitizes you.” This ability to incorporate other lenses of experience into writing and music is something that is fundamental to Latif’s conception of the artist’s path and purpose.  

“I love medicine but I know in my heart the real dream that I have is to be a songwriter and a performer, and now I’m doing both.” Later this year, Latif’s band Parachute Thieves will be releasing a song called “Move Muhammad,” a fusion of qawwali and South Asian styles with alternative rock. The song tells the story of a character named Muhammad who defies societal and cultural expectations to follow his true calling as an artist, because that is what is in his heart. Assuredly, this is also the message of Latif’s own heart, offering a type of medicine in a world where artists are not always allowed to embrace that which makes them feel whole. 

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Follow Latif's musical journey on Instagram @ParachuteThieves. Listen to Parachute Thieves music on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. Check out Latif's other initiatives, including Poems in Passage.